This invention relates to automotive alarm circuits, and particularly to an alarm system that informs the driver of a following vehicle when the driver of the leading vehicle is attempting to very rapidly decelerate his vehicle, e.g. stop the vehicle in a minimum distance to avoid a collision with another vehicle.
Many drivers tend to "ride" their brakes, i.e. to apply light foot pressure to the brake pedal for prolonged periods in order to minimize vehicle speed changes. The driver of the following vehicle sees the leading vehicle's brake lights go on and off frequently, without any appreciable discernible speed changes. Should a panic braking situation develop, e.g. an animal darting out into the street or another car running a red light at an intersection, the braking signal generated at the rear end of the leading vehicle will be indistinguishable from the signal generated at other times when the driver is merely riding the brake, i.e. slightly depressing the brake pedal. The driver of the following vehicle is liable not to take the signal seriously, thereby posing the danger of a rear end collision.
The present invention relates to a vehicle braking alarm system wherein alarm lamps at the rear end of the vehicle exhibit one signal when the brake pedal is lightly depressed and a second different signal when the brake pedal is depressed at an abnormally high (panic) rate. The following U.S. patents relate to vehicle braking alarm systems: U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,152 to J. Tandy, U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,361 to D. Replogle, U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,036 to J. Doerr, U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,516 to G. Clinker, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,807 to J. Davis. My invention is believed to represent a departure from these patents, in that none of these patents provides two different braking signals, dependent on the way that foot pressure is applied to the brake pedal.